Captain Marvel

The Last Tycoon

After having worked on so many shows with futuristic and/or alien landscapes, plus heavy VFX and stunt work, this was a refreshing show for me to work on. Period 1930's Hollywood? - so much fun!

We erected The Brady American Office Suite from the pilot, and built many new stage sets for the series, including the Int. Brady Mansion Bedroom and Study, which had been shot on location at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. As we would be featuring many scenes in this space during the season, it made sense to recreate it on stage rather than travel the crew, set dressing, lighting, etc. to the location each time.

Many scenes in the pilot that featured the Ext. Brady American Studio Lot were shot at Paramount Studios. Our show's offices and stages were at The Lot, which is near Paramount. But as with the Brady Mansion, it made more financial sense to use the backlot we were on. And so we recreated the featured exterior staircase leading up to the Writer's Offices at Paramount. (The Int. Writer's Office sets were inside the soundstage). As many of the surrounding buildings on The Lot still had a predominantly period look, we used, and enhanced it, and formed a nice intersection of streets and buildings to shoot our action around. There was a nice line of sight from the Writer's Office staircase right into one of our soundstage. We also used the mill at The Lot as several different backlot locations, such as the Wardrobe Department. To get as much variety as possible, and when timing and budget allowed, we did go back to the Paramount Lot for some exterior backlot scenes.

For our show's movie sets that revealed behind-the-scenes areas, we were fortunate to have stages that still contained most of their original structure. As with many locations we used, we covered more modern signage and lighting with period versions. (It's amazing how much there is to cover when you work on a period show like this - modern light switches, motion detectors, security cameras, satellite dishes, parking meters, even lane striping in the streets, etc., are EVERYWHERE!)

We also used many famed locations around town, such as Musso & Franks's - a piece of classic Hollywood, and The Biltmore Hotel, in downtown LA, for the Oscar party scene.

For every stage set and location, we combed tough as much period research as we could find to best represent what Hollywood looked like in the 1930's.

Margo Taft's House - Backyard (Beverly Hills Location)

The mill, turned into a hallway by the Wardrobe Dept. (The Lot)

Recreated Ext. Writer's Office Building & Staircase

Int. Writer's Office (Stage set from pilot)

Int. Monroe's Office (Stage set from pilot)

Int. Brady's Office (Stage set from pilot)

Int. Brady's Mansion (Stage set)

Int. Studio Recording Room (Stage set)

Int. Brady Manion - Bedroom (Stage Set)

Int. Casting Session (Stage Set)

Ext. "Bells of Boston" movie set

Movie set created for a scene in "An Enemy Among Us"

Int. Oscar Ceremony (Biltmore Hotel location)

Oscar statue, coated in sugar - just as it was at that ceremony in the '30s!

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

Production Designer: Scott Chambliss

We built and filmed primarily on stage at Pinewood Studios, Atlanta, GA. Meaning another 8+ months away from home for me, and most of the art department.

I was in charge of some of the more organic sets: the forest on Berhert (my 3rd career forest!), and J'son's planet, plus J'son's ship, and the Sleeping Quarters on his planet. I worked very closely with our amazing staff of Greensmen, Painters, and Sculptors to bring all of these sets to life.

Ext. Berhert Forest

Int/Ext. Sleeping Quarters - J'son's Planet

Int. J'son's Ship

Int' J'son's Cavern - Level 2

Int. J'son's Planet - Self Chamber

Mockingjay - Part Two

Production Designer - Philip Messina

Many of these sets were built and filmed alongside sets used for Mockingjay - Part One.

The Int. Control Room set was built entirely on stage at ScreenGems Studio in Atlanta Georgia. Coin's Office sits on the second level.

The Int. Cafeteria was built in the basement of an old department store in downtown Atlanta. The existing coffered ceiling worked perfectly with the underground concept for D13. Our Set Decorator, Larry Dias, had all of the tables built, while our construction department built the additional columns with the monitors in them, as well as other wall units to enclose the existing escalators.

The Int. Meadow set was built in a local Atlanta convention center, and was meant to have an adjoining Hydroponics Lab, but was built separately from it due to time and stage space restrictions. Inside the Hydroponics Lab our Greens Dept. actually grew all of the plants shown - from seeds. Sadly, we needed to strike the set quickly, and none of the greens we grew were able to be harvested.

Int. Tigris's Shop and Cellar were both built on stages at Screen Gems Studio. The exterior of the store was an actual location in Europe, and we had a local art director there measure it for us, so we could recreate the front on stage. And, though it looks seamless on film, the store was not built on top of the Cellar, it was built in an adjoining stage.

Ext. Peeta's Hospital Room

Int. Peeta's Hospital Room

Int. Control Room

Int. Coin's Office

Int. Cafeteria

Int. Meadow

Int. Hydroponics Lab

Int. Control Room

Int. Tigris's Shop

Int. Tigris's Shop - Cellar

Ext. Collapsed Floors

Int. Stairwell (Photo of exterior of the set)

Mockingjay - Part One

Production Designer - Philip Messina

Built and filmed mostly in Atlanta, Georgia, we battled budget, time, and weather to get the sets ready for this film. Actually, BOTH films, as we did Mockingjay Part One and Part Two at the same time. Even with the assistance of VFX to extend and complete many sets, this was a huge build, with more steel used than I have ever seen on a project. As the sets featured in District 13 are based around the idea of a repurposed, underground nuclear weapons facility, many of the sets are circular in plan, and feature concrete and steel construction. We also took advantage of many locations that had deep, coffered concrete ceilings - such as parking structures, and the basement of an old department store.

The stairway we built for the scene where the residents escape down to the bomb shelter, was built outside in the parking lot of the studio we were at. Though relatively simple in its concept, constructing the set outside was problematic, as again, the weather often worked against us (think rain, ice and snow when trying to weld). Then there was the scaffolding to not only hold it all up, but also support all of the actors running up and down it, SPFX rain rigs, lighting rigs, etc. Designer Phil Messina joked that the outer structure was almost more impressive than the inside!

D13 Hospital - Triage Area and Central Nurses' Station

Int. Hospital Corridor

Katniss' Hospital Room

Int. Observation Room

Int. Hovercraft

Int. Living Quarters

Saving Mr. Banks

Production Designer: Michael Corenblith

Saving Mr. Banks was made nearly entirely in Los Angeles. Only the scenes outside of Mrs. Travers' London home were filmed on location in London, outside the actual home she lived in. All of her interiors were built on stage in Santa Clarita, CA.

Both the Goff House and Agricultural Fair in 1906 Australia were filmed in Simi Valley, California.

Disney's office, hallways, and rehearsal room were built and filmed on stages in Santa Clarita, CA. The exteriors around the Disney lot were filmed on the actual Disney Studio lot in Burbank, CA. Thankfully, most of the original architecture remains largely preserved in its original form and color. Any newer architecture inappropriate to our time period we blocked from view with greens, or merely pointed the camera away from.

Disney's Archive Department assisted us with countless reference photos of the time period we needed. A replica of Disney's Office was on display at the Reagan Library, and served as wonderful inspiration and reference.

All photos by L. Polizzi

Ext Goff House (photo composite)

Int Goff House - Kitchen

Ext. Allora Fair

Int. Walt Disney's Office

Int. Rehearsal Room

Ext. Walt Disney Studios

Int. P.L. Travers' House

Star Trek Into Darkness

Production Designer: Scott Chambliss

The Int. Conference Room set was an exciting puzzle to solve, as it needed to function on film in a couple ways: in a pristine condition for the conversational scene, and as one that could handle heavy SPFX explosions and stunts over a multiple day shoot. JJ Abrams had a clear vision of what he wanted for the scene, and had it fully mapped-out in previs, so I knew what action to accommodate for. Multiple meetings and walk-throughs of the set with the Director, DP, and all department heads greatly assisted in this effort.

The set for the opening scene on the red planet of Nibiru went through a number of phases. At its origin, the set was to be filmed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where VFX would digitally change all green vegetation into red. When this process, plus set builds, transportation, and housing of the entire cast and crew became prohibitively expensive, we were asked to find a way to do it all in Los Angeles. After several attempts to find a suitable jungle location failed, we braved all weather conditions, and built our own red jungle, from scratch, outside in the parking lot at our studio space in Playa Vista, CA. In the end, it measured only 40' wide by 120' long. We sculpted all of the terrain, and the trees and plants were modular, so that they could be moved by our Greensmen team into different positions to make the jungle look different each time the actors ran through it. Though some expressed doubt that this would work in a believable way, JJ was pleased with the result, it performed beautifully, and it became a memorable scene in the final film. I'm betting that Nibiru could return in a future sequel... I'm ready.

All photos by L. Polizzi

Preferences

Int. Starfleet Conference Room

Int. Elevator

Ext. Nibiru

Dinner for Schmucks

Production Designer: Michael Corenblith

The built sets for this film were fairly large, and were constructed and filmed on the Paramount Studios lot. Though the Fender Mansion was established and shot on location in Pasadena, the Int. Dining Room set was built on stage, for ease of shooting the demanding finale scene, and all safety precautions for the fire stunt. We built the dining room, hallways, back courtyard as seen through the dining room windows, and the surrounding house walls.

For Tim and Julie's apartment, we built the entire living space, plus elevator lobby and staircase, and matched details such as the exterior windows and staircase railing, so that it would easily blend-in with the location.

All photos by L. Polizzi

Preferences

§

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

-

=

Backspace

Tab

q

w

e

r

t

y

u

i

o

p

[

]

Return

capslock

a

s

d

f

g

h

j

k

l

;

'

\

shift

`

z

x

c

v

b

n

m

,

.

/

shift

English

Deutsch

Español

Français

Italiano

Português

Русский

alt

alt

Preferences

Int. Fender Dining Room

Int. Tim & Julie's Apartment

Cowboys & Aliens

Production Designer: Scott Chambliss

It was an exciting challenge to work on a set that was supposed to look like an upside-down riverboat that had been cast down from the sky. In designing it, we first established what we wanted the undamaged boat to look like, and made construction documents for it. Then both myself and designer Scott Chambliss would go down to the stage and draw on each wall how we wanted it broken and angled. We went through a fair amount of trial and error with construction to find the best and quickest way to get convincingly damaged walls and floors - and keep the environment as safe as possible for the cast and crew. I've worked on a number of sets that are supposed to look heavily damaged - they are not as easy to do as you might think. And this one also had to accommodate for rain inside the set!

The other large set I was fortunate enough to work on was the underground, alien-carved cave complex. This was built and sculpted out of wood and foam on stage at Universal Studios, CA. Many of the walls and large boulders were made modular, so that we could change the arrangement of tunnels and rooms to suit each scene. Though made mostly of foam, these pieces were coated in plaster, and still quite heavy. The Grip Department built a gantry system over the set to assist the moving of major set pieces, as well as lighting rigs. There were a large number of things that needed to move, and this system helped tremendously.

All photos by L. Polizzi

Preferences

§

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

-

=

Backspace

Tab

q

w

e

r

t

y

u

i

o

p

[

]

Return

capslock

a

s

d

f

g

h

j

k

l

;

'

\

shift

`

z

x

c

v

b

n

m

,

.

/

shift

English

Deutsch

Español

Français

Italiano

Português

Русский

alt

alt

Preferences

Int. Upside-down Riverboat

Int. Cave - w/Alien Gold Mining Apparatus

Int. Alien-Carved Tunnel

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Production Designer: Nigel Phelps

Working on this set was a bit of a dream-come-true for me - I've always been fascinated with the architecture of ancient Egypt - and here was my chance to build some! Though I did not get to go on the scout to Egypt, the designer, Nigel Phelps, did, and brought back countless inspiring research photos. We laid-out the set in plan and model form in Los Angeles, and had it approved by Michael Bay before heading out to White Sands, New Mexico to build it. The amazing construction crew and I endured a summer of 130º heat to build this complex set. The ancient columns, carved heads, and much of the hieroglyphics were sculpted and molded in Los Angeles, and then shipped to the location in order to keep the site as free as possible from bits of foam debris. We also worked hand-in-hand with SPFX to spot and supervise the multitudes of explosions and crashing set walls, plus coordinate the explosions and tumbling columns that would need to occur in different scenes. It is a precisely coordinated dance between all departments to keep this kind of action safe for cast and crew - and look convincing (and fabulous!) at the same time.

All photos by L. Polizzi

Ext. Abandoned Egyptian Town

Knocked-Up

Production Designer: Jefferson Sage

A person could assume that the scenery built for this film was of a more modest scale - but they would be wrong. We built quite a bit.

Though we did film at a location home for Pete & Debbie's House and Allison's Guest House, we built the full second floor interior of the main house, plus the interior and exterior for Allison's Guest House on stage. This allowed for much easier access and filming (by way of adding wild walls), especially in the case of Allison's Guest House, as we kept to matching the exact size of the location structure.

The interior of Ben's bedroom was filmed at a location home in Van Nuys, but then was also replicated on stage for the filming of the earthquake sequence. For this we built the entire bedroom set on a fixed-wheel rolling platform, and SPFX added all of the mechanics so that it would all shake as in a real earthquake. This set, plus Allison's Guest House AND Pete & Debbie's second floor set were shoe-horned into one soundstage on the Sony Studios lot in Culver City.

All of the smaller doctor's offices were dressed into existing spaces at a closed hospital in Van Nuys, CA, but the large maternity ward nurse's station, hallways, and hospital room were built on stage on the Sony lot. We looked into filming the maternity ward scene at that same Van Nuys hospital, but it became problematic and costly to alter the existing hospital room to accommodate for filming the way Director Judd Apatow wished - so we built the whole thing on stage instead.

We also built a Las Vegas Hotel Room, the Vegas Club interior, plus a portion of a restaurant and house.

Photos by L. Polizzi

Preferences

§

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

-

=

Backspace

Tab

q

w

e

r

t

y

u

i

o

p

[

]

Return

capslock

a

s

d

f

g

h

j

k

l

;

'

\

shift

`

z

x

c

v

b

n

m

,

.

/

shift

English

Deutsch

Español

Français

Italiano

Português

Русский

alt

alt

Preferences

Int. Allison's Guesthouse

Ext. Allison's Guest House

Int. Ben's Bedroom

Int. Maternity Ward Set

Int. Pete & Debbie's House - Bathroom

Int. Las Vegas Bar

The Alamo

Production Designer: Michael Corenblith

On private property in Dripping Springs, Texas, an area outside of Austin, we built over 52 acres of film sets, including the Alamo Fort, the town of Bexar, the town of San Felipe, and others. We meticulously researched the historic Alamo site in San Antonio, and its history, and consulted with several historians on the subject. Our set designer and sculptors for this set rigorously measured, drew, and then sculpted the famous front facade of the church to match it as closely as possible to the original historic, and sacred, site. We were being watched quite closely by those who hold this site dear, and we were under pressure to get it right. Though we changed the orientation of the church on the site for story-telling purposes, and took some license when filling-in a few missing details, in the end I think we satisfied many nay-sayers.

There was no stage work on this film, all interiors for the Alamo Fort, Bexar, and San Felipe were built inside their corresponding buildings on site. After finishing all filming in and around the San Felipe set, we set it ablaze for the scene where General Santa Ana marches through, and burns it down.

As the fort and town took their final shape and finish, many local student groups were brought to our set for a tour of the grounds to assist and inspire their classroom studies. It became a very popular field trip. Sadly, this set burnt down a number of years ago.

All photos by L. Polizzi

Preferences

§

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

-

=

Backspace

Tab

q

w

e

r

t

y

u

i

o

p

[

]

Return

capslock

a

s

d

f

g

h

j

k

l

;

'

\

shift

`

z

x

c

v

b

n

m

,

.

/

shift

English

Deutsch

Español

Français

Italiano

Português

Русский

alt

alt

Ext. Alamo Church

Ext. Main Gate & Ramp to 40-Pounder Cannon

Ext Travis' Quarters

Overview of Alamo Compound

View of Alamo from Bexar

Bexar Church

View of Bexar from atop the Church, Alamo in the distance

Ext San Felipe Street

Int. Consultation Cabin - San Felipe

San Felipe Burns

Ext. Surrender Tree

Ext Cherokee Village

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Production Designer: Michael Corenblith

Built on stages at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, nothing was put on our sets that wasn't Who-ified in some way first. For us, it was Christmastime for the better part of a year. What fun we had!

When researching how to safely build the gravity-defying bridges in Whoville, we consulted engineers at JPL who had also done work for many of the floats in the New Year's Day Rose Parade. Though sturdy and safe enough to walk on, the narrower bridges still swayed quite a bit!

All photos by L. Polizzi

As digital photography was still relatively new at this point in time, the photos here are not of as good a quality as ones I could get today.